Weird News: Facebook Is Bad for Your Health?

If there's one thing I've learned covering health and fitness topics for so many years, it's this: If you can think it up, some researcher out there has probably studied it. Take Facebook for instance. The Web site we all know and love (and probably spend too much time on), is under fire for being "bad for your health." I'll explain...

****Do you use Facebook? I'm a newcomer (VG readers, friend me!), but since I've set up my profile, I have to admit--I'm a little obsessed (just how frequent is too frequent when it comes to status updates, BTW?).

I suppose this is what interested some researchers recently. Their study, published in the Journal of the Institute of Biology, claims that "increased isolation could alter the way genes work and upset immune responses, hormone levels and the function of arteries," reports The Daily Mail. "It could also impair mental performance. This could increase the risk of problems as serious as cancer, strokes, heart disease and dementia..."

The researchers say that social networking sites, like Facebook, could be dangerous because they can contribute to isolation. OK, maybe if you spend 22 hours a day online without any human interaction. But, if you're just logging in now and then like I do (OK so, I did spend an hour on FB last night--sue me), none of us are going to die of cancer from it.

Fess up! How much time do you spend on Facebook and other "social networking" sites?

P.S. Spending all that time on the computer, you may need--surprise--sunscreen. Read why.